This invention relates generally to the art of prefabricated structural accents and, more specifically, to the art of beam structures adapted to be supported against a mounting structure secured to the ceiling or wall of a room.
Cabinets, drawers, wardrobes and other similar structures made of a prefabricated base material incorporate various applications of grooving and folding techniques in their construction. In Himelrich U.S. Pat. No. 3,472,571, a cabinet formed of grooved and folded laminated panels is disclosed. The cabinet has a thicker inner layer and an ornamental outer layer so interfitted as to provide reinforced corners. The cabinet disclosed in Henning U.S. Pat. No. 3,881,794 is made from a single sheet of board and is laminated on at least one side with a finished material which forms a living hinge due to the grooving of the substrate. The cabinet is formed by appropriately folding the sheet of base material.
Drawer panels with a wood grain pattern are disclosed in Lampe, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,933,401 formed from a single slab of foamed rigid polyvinyl chloride. Grooves are cut in one surface of the slab and heat is applied so that bending at appropriate groove locations forms the rear and side panels of the drawer. In Leopold U.S. Pat. No. 4,530,195, a spacer frame for an insulating glass panel is described. First and second body portions of the frame structure are secured to first and second frame segments, respectively, and a hinge structure connects the body portions to allow movement of one frame segment relative to the other.
Van Wie U.S. Pat. No. 175,308 discloses a wardrobe with doors and side frames hinged together and beveled so as to allow the doors to open outwardly or to be folded inwardly. Replogle U.S. Pat. No. 2,605,617 discloses a collapsible cabinet refrigerator employing inside and outside hinges which connect for folding purposes, pairs of walls to a rear wall.
A muntin bar structure for use in supporting window panes is disclosed in Schottenberg U.S. Pat. No. 2,193,299 wherein bar elements are bent to provide bar sections disposed in a desired angular relationship to each other.
Whereas the aforementioned structures, except for the muntin bar, employ folding techniques along grooves of a substrate to achieve the desired embodiment, all structures disclosed are functional and many have movable parts. The currently available prefabricated room accent structures do not typically use grooving and folding techniques being generally formed of styrofoam or similar material which is either painted or stained. These structures while overcoming the disadvantages of wooden structures (weight, expense, etc.) also lack the realistic appearance of wood. There has not been to date such an accent structure which is light-weight and sturdy, effectively represents a wooden beam for decorative purposes and employs a grooving and folding technique which assures easy installation.